It is frequently necessary to transport medical patients from the site of an accident or injury to a hospital. For example, persons suffering from various medical emergency conditions such as heart attacks, and strokes must be transported quickly to a medical facility. Medical personnel speak of a "golden hour" within which such a medical patient must be transported to a medical facility so that proper medical care can be provided therefor. The survival rate for such medical patients is greatly enhanced if they are transported to the medical facility within the golden hour.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, it is frequently difficult to transport a patient to a remotely located medical facility in a timely manner, particularly within the desired golden hour. It is not unusual for accidents to occur at remote locations. Thus, a substantial amount of time may be required to transport the medical patient to a distant hospital. Also, in battlefield situations it is frequently impossible to transport a casualty immediately. In either instance, the patient may be located hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from a hospital, thus necessitating several hours of transport time. As such, it is frequently beneficial to perform various emergency medical procedures at the site of the medical problem, and to attempt to provide ongoing medical care during transport to a remote hospital. The mortality rate of such transported medical patients is substantially reduced.
It is well-known to use various different medical devices in the field, i.e., at locations remote from a medical facility, so as to enhance a medical patient's chance of survival. For example, it is well-known to use an electrocardiograph (ECG) and a defibrillator upon heart attack victims so as to monitor the condition thereof and so as to provide medical treatment therefor in field.
Typically, the medical patient is placed upon a litter and then various different medical devices are used upon the patient, as necessary. During transport the medical devices may either be temporarily disconnected from the patient, or alternatively may be hand carried along therewith by additional personnel. However, disconnection of the medical devices from the patient results in the undesirable disruption of medical monitoring and/or treatment therefor. Hand carrying the medical devices along with the patient requires extra personnel, which may not be available, or for which there may not be adequate room within the transport vehicle.
As such, it is desirable to provide a system for transporting a medical patient wherein the medical devices are carried along with the stretcher. In an attempt to provide such a system for transporting a medical patient while facilitating the continuous use of medical devices thereupon, the Mobile Intensive Care Rescue Facility (MIRF) was developed by the Royal Australian Army Medical Corp. the MIRF is intended to provide sufficient medical equipment to have the capabilities of an intensive care hospital ward. The MIRF is designated so as to facilitate the removal and replacement of the various pieces of medical equipment therefrom for maintenance. The MIRF is specifically designed to accommodate two major roles: the transfer of critically ill people from one point to another, such as from a ward to an x-ray room or from one hospital to another; and the bringing of life support systems quickly to the scene of an accident or other medical emergency.
The MIRF can be configured to include a blood pressure cuff, an invasive blood pressure monitor, a body temperature sensor, a heart rate sensor (finger clip sensor), an oxygen saturation sensor, an exhaled air carbon dioxide sensor, and an electrocardiograph, so as to facilitate medical monitoring of a patient. Further, the MIRF can include a ventilation system, a volumetric infusion pump, a syringe pump, a suction unit, and a defibrillator so as to facilitate medical treatment.
Another contemporary system is the MOBI described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,121, issued to Icenogle et al. on Sep. 18, 1990. The MOBI is similar to the MIRF in concept. That is, like the MIRF, the MOBI utilized off-the-shelf medical devices which are attached to the housing thereof so as to be transportable therewith, thus eliminating disruptions in the medical care provided thereby during transport.
Further examples of such contemporary life support systems include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,584,989; 4,352,991; 4,691,397; 3,304,116; and 3,341,246.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,989 discloses a life support litter bed adapted to accommodate patients in intensive or cardiac care units in hospitals. The life support litter bed is broadly adapted for electrical medical devices, medical supplies and features an undercarriage including a support structural, wheels, a patient housing with a mattress, an electrical power source and supports for mounting the medical equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,991 teaches a life support system adapted for field use in a vehicle with available power and includes electrically operable life support units, means for supporting the life support units, a patient litter, and a DC power source adapted for battery or remote power source.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,397 teaches a device for carrying the life supporting devices of a bedridden patient including a table like means for supporting the devices, an IV holder, wheeled transport means and a hospital bed footboard securing means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,246 teaches a hospital litter adapted broadly with a litter structure having telescopic post elements and other means for manipulating the patient to various positions.
It is desirable for such transportable life support systems to be configured to accept a stretcher or litter. This litter compatibility allows a patient who has been brought to the transportable life support system on a litter to be placed upon the transportable life support system by merely placing the litter thereupon. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, it is extremely undesirable to move patients more than absolutely necessary. This restriction is particularly true with trauma or accident patients wherein the exact nature and extent of their injury is not known. Thus, it would be undesirable to be forced to set the litter next to a transportable life support system and then to have to move the patient from the litter to the transportable life support system by picking the patient up or rolling the patient over. Such movement of the patient undesirably exposes the patient to additional risk of injury or aggravation of an existing injury.
Thus, it is preferable to merely attach the litter upon which the patient is disposed to a transportable life support system. Such attachment of a litter to a transportable life support system necessitates the use of some type of latch or lock down for positively assuring attachment of the litter to the transportable life support system and also for facilitating quick release of litter from a transportable life support system when the patient arrives at a medical facility.
Thus, as it is desirable to facilitate attachment of the litter to the transportable life support system so as to prevent undesirable movement of the patient, it is likewise desirable to facilitate quick release of the litter from the transportable life support system so as to facilitate rapid movement of the patient away therefrom. Movement of the patient away from the transportable life support system typically occurs at a medical facility, where the patient may be moved from the transportable life support system to an operating table, for example. For the above mentioned reasons, it is similarly undesirable to pick up or roll the patient in order to accomplish such movement. Thus, it is preferable to pick up the litter, thus separating the litter from the transportable life support system, and to move the litter and patient together to the new location.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, releasing the litter from the transportable life support system must be accomplished as quickly as possible, so that prompt medical attention may be provided to the patient. It is extremely undesirable to require that a procedure taking a substantial length of time be performed so as to effect release of the litter from the transportable life support system. Thus, the litter must be released from the transportable life support system as quickly as possible. This release is particularly important in situations where lifesaving medical attention must be provided to the patient as quickly as possible.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide means for simply, quickly, and reliably attaching a litter to a transportable life support system, wherein the litter may also be easily and quickly removed therefrom.